Military operation in Ukraine

19 Mar, 11:40

IN BRIEF: What is known about Ukrainian drone strike on oil facility in southern Russia

A crashing drone caused the decompression of an oil tank at the facility and ignited a fire

© Smoliyenko Dmytro/ Ukrinform/ ABACA via Reuters Connect

MOSCOW, March 19. /TASS/. Three Ukrainian drones targeted an oil transfer facility in Russia’s southern Krasnodar Region after Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a phone call, agreed to US leader Donald Trump’s initiative for an energy infrastructure ceasefire, the Russian Defense Ministry stated.

A crashing drone caused the decompression of an oil tank at the facility and ignited a fire.

TASS has gathered the key details about the incident.

Drone strike

- After Putin made a decision to halt strikes on energy infrastructure based on Trump’s proposal, Ukraine attacked the oil facility in the settlement of Kavkazskaya, Krasnodar Region, using three drones.

- The facility serves to transfer oil from railroad tank cars into the pipelines owned by the Caspian Pipeline Consortium international oil transportation company.

- A crashing drone caused one of the oil tanks to rupture and ignite; the blazes engulfed 1,700 square meters. Firefighting operations are underway.

- The Russian Defense Ministry described Ukrainian strikes on Russia’s energy infrastructure as a deliberate provocation, "intended at disrupting the US president’s peace initiatives."

- After receiving Putin’s order to suspend attacks on energy sites, Russian forces intercepted seven of their own drones that had been launched earlier, the ministry added.

Attack on oil pumping station

- The Russian Defense Ministry noted that the Kropotkinskaya oil pumping station, also part of the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, had been disabled after sustaining damage in a Ukrainian drone attack on February 17.

- The Transneft oil company, which is the Russian shareholder of the international consortium, announced earlier that the station had suffered damage and repairs could take six to eight weeks, while oil transportation from Kazakhstan could fall by 30% for the duration of repair work.

- Oil transportation through the Tengiz-Novorossiysk pipeline system is being maintained through an emergency route, bypassing the Kropotkinskaya station.

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